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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · march · face · mate · pop · key · wind · shower

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. shower — rain
  3. march — music
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. shower — to wash
  7. pop — music
  8. key — in music
  9. face — to point toward
  10. mate — a partner
  11. mate — to breed
  12. fork — in a road
  13. march — the month
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pop — to visit
  18. face — part of the head
  19. pop — soda
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. mate — a friend
  22. march — the month
  23. key — the most important part
  24. key — for a lock

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com